Enrollment
424
Arkansas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 051185000939
Sherwood Elementary School — Sherwood, AR
Federal NCES profile for Sherwood Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 50/100.
👥 Class size 30
🌟 Gifted program 70
📋 Attendance 49
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: Pulaski Co. Spec. School Dist. · Arkansas
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
21.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17.5:1
vs 13.6:1 Arkansas avg
+29% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
37.8%
vs 59.2% Arkansas avg
-36% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Sherwood Elementary School compares with Arkansas and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Sherwood Elementary School reports 424 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 21.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 17.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 29% above the Arkansas state mean of 13.6:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 10% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 37.8% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 36% below the Arkansas average and 27% below the national baseline. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 20.3% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Pulaski Co. Spec. School Dist. spends $16,702 per pupil district-wide, above the Arkansas average of $14,269 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 63.0% from local sources (property taxes), 16.6% from the state, and 20.4% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 50/100 (C-), calculated from 3 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Sherwood Elementary School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Arkansas state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Arkansas | Arkansas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 17.5:1 | ▲ 29% | 13.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 37.8% | ▼ 36% | 59.2% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 424 | top 55% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
37.8%
free-lunch eligible
— 36% below the Arkansas average of 59.2%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
17.5:1
students per teacher
— 29% above state mean
Top 84% in Arkansas — lower ratio than 16% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
20.3%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$16,702
per pupil, district-wide
— above Arkansas avg of $14,269
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
3
in-school suspensions + 28 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 7.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 424 Top 55% in Arkansas — larger than 45% of 1,069 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 21.0
Students per teacher 17.5:1 +29% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 37.8% -36% vs state
NCES ID 051185000939
Student demographics
African American 42.7%
White 40.8%
Two or More 7.8%
Hispanic or Latino 6.6%
Asian 1.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.5%
Largest group: African American at 42.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 0.0
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 20.3%
In-school suspensions 3
Out-of-school suspensions 28
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Pulaski Co. Spec. School Dist., which includes Sherwood Elementary School.
$16,702
Per student
+17%
vs Arkansas
Avg $14,269
-14%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 63.0%
State 16.6%
Federal 20.4%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,120
- Students per teacher
- 14.5:1
- Enrollment
- 1,030
- Students per teacher
- 12.8:1
- Enrollment
- 869
- Students per teacher
- 13.2:1
- Enrollment
- 772
- Students per teacher
- 14.8:1
- Enrollment
- 721
- Students per teacher
- 12.7:1
Similar other schools in Sherwood
3 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Sherwood Elementary School
How many students attend Sherwood Elementary School?
Sherwood Elementary School has 424 students enrolled. It is a other school in SHERWOOD, AR.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sherwood Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Sherwood Elementary School is 17.5:1, which is 29% higher than the Arkansas average of 13.6:1 and 10% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Sherwood Elementary School?
37.8% of students at Sherwood Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arkansas average of 59.2%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Sherwood Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Sherwood Elementary School is African American at 42.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in SHERWOOD, AR.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Sherwood Elementary School?
Sherwood Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 50/100 (C-) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.